


If You Don't Get It Right The First Time

by jumpstarts



Series: The Yellow Brick Road [1]
Category: DBSK | Tohoshinki | TVfXQ | TVXQ
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Boa Is A Good Bro, Heechul Just Wants To Live His Fabulous Life, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-19
Updated: 2019-01-19
Packaged: 2019-10-12 12:29:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17467559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jumpstarts/pseuds/jumpstarts
Summary: Yunho has a crush on Changmin. Boa thinks boys are dumb.She's not wrong.





	If You Don't Get It Right The First Time

**Author's Note:**

> this one is for nad @ twitter. (do you even have an ao3 account??).
> 
> also this was written entirely on notepad, in between naps and lacks any form of coherency. at least it's happy? sort of? :D

  
.

 

The paper crinkles in his hands, creased around the corners from being read too much and Yunho leans back against his chair with a sigh. The stacks of books around him provide much needed privacy, blocking out the rest of the library. He stares at the paper once again, eyes skimming over words that he’d memorised and he really, really needs to start on his book report right now instead of agonising over his decision to write down his feelings.

"What's that?"

Startled, Yunho’s first instinct is to shove the paper under his notebook. Boa’s face hovers above his wall of books, an eyebrow arched. "Nothing," he says. Maybe a little too quickly. Boa's eyebrow goes higher and he knows he's in deep shit now. "I thought you’re still in practice?"

"Coach kicked us out early." She rounds the table and plops into the chair right next to Yunho, flipping her ponytail over a shoulder. She smells of sweat and soil, with smears of dried mud on her baseball uniform. Summer's coming, which means the next tournament should be in a couple weeks. "So. Are you gonna tell me or do I have to beat it out of you?"

Knowing Boa, there's nothing metaphorical about her threat. Yunho picks up a pen and begins scrawling random sentences into his notebook, trying to buy as much time as possible. "I told you, it's nothing."

She narrows her eyes. "Is this about that transfer kid from Seoul?"

Yunho squirms. "No."

"You're a shit liar, Yundol." There's no sympathy in her expression, just the kind of smugness that shouldn't look so intimidating on such a tiny girl. She holds out a hand, expectant. "Just show me the damn thing."

"I- Fine. Don’t laugh, okay?" There's no escaping Boa when she gets like this. She's about as persistent as a honey badger and twenty times as vicious. Yunho pulls out the piece of paper, handing it over to her like it's a ticking time bomb. There are fresh creases from where he’d shoved it under his book and it looks even less impressive than before. Which isn't saying much, considering his penmanship. "I’ve been trying to- you know-"

Boa takes one look at the letter and starts cackling. "You wrote him a _love letter_?"

"It’s not a love letter!"

"Oh my god, this is so cute!"

"It's not! Shut up!"

"' _Changminnie, I think you're special_ -'," Boa reads out loud, punctuating her recital with another gleeful cackle. She waves the letter in Yunho’s face and jerks back when he tries to grab it. "Yep, definitely a love letter."

Yunho's forehead hits the table with a loud thunk. "Kill me now."

"Don't be a drama queen," she scoffs. "You should've just told him you like him. It's not like you have anything to lose."

"And make everything awkward between us if he doesn't like me back? Yeah, no way in hell."

"Yundol-"

"Yunho-hyung likes someone?"

Yunho and Boa look up at the same time to find the object of their conversation standing behind her. Changmin looks like a skyscraper next to Boa and he turns to Yunho with a questioning tilt of his jaw. Yunho's throat runs dry and he fights the flush that's threatening to take over his face. The entire situation's rapidly careening from bad to worse and he wonders what he'd done wrong to deserve any of this.

"Yeah," Boa says, because she's Satan incarnate. Yunho feels like crawling under the table to escape this conversation. "He even writes him a love letter."

For half a second, Changmin's face seems to have frozen. Eventually, it thaws out enough for him to ask, "Who's the lucky guy?"

Yunho can see Boa opening her mouth and he scrambles to cut her off, to damage control as much as he can. He's pretty sure his brain had disconnected itself when he blurts out, "Heechul! It's Heechul-hyung!"

Boa gives him a look that loudly says ' _what the fuck_ '.

Changmin's brows furrow, as if trying to remember something unpleasant. "Heechul-hyung is the one who dressed up as a girl during your class party last weekend, right?"

"He looked pretty," Yunho quickly says, feels like he should be defending Heechul's (oft questionable) life choices. "Better than some of the girls."

"...Right." Changmin's mouth twists into a smile that looks vaguely unamused. He hefts his book bag further up his shoulder. His broad shoulder, that Yunho likes. Very much. "Well, good luck with your crush, hyung. I'll see you at rehearsal tomorrow?"

Yunho nods stiffly. "Sure. Just remind Kyuhyun to come on time today. They're changing some of his parts in the third act and he'll need to go through them with Ryeowook."

Changmin turns to leave and Boa fondly pats Yunho's head as they watch him disappear around the corner. "That was a disaster."

Yunho slams his forehead against the table again.

 

.

 

Once Yunho gets home, the love letter promptly goes into his rubbish bin.

After dinner, he digs it out again and tucks the whole wrinkled mess in between the pages of his Maths textbook.

 

.

 

They're staging a musical at the end of the year and while Yunho doesn't have to worry about any singing part, he choreographs most of the scenes with Hyukjae. Which isn't that big of a deal if not for the fact that half of the cast doesn't really know how to dance. He's in the middle of showing one of the newer kids the transitional steps when Heechul pops over, leaning against him heavily.

"Yunnie~"

Yunho laughs and tells Junmyeon to practise with his partner, easily sliding an arm around Heechul's shoulder. "What's up, hyung?"

"Did I do something to piss Changmin off?"

"What?" Yunho blinks, blindsided by the question. Boa arrives just in time to hear that exchange and raises her eyebrows. "What makes you think so?"

"He's been glaring at me since yesterday." Heechul pouts, clinging harder onto him and Yunho struggles to keep both of them upright. "It's getting kinda creepy."

Yunho isn't sure what he's supposed to do with that information. Changmin never had any problem with others, preferring to keep the company of his few close friends and Yunho only hears good things about him from the rest of the school. Which doesn't help with his stupid crush, but he'd like to think that he has good taste when it comes to men. Heechul is still pouting though, so Yunho glances to where he last saw Changmin.

Who's now striding towards them, long legs eating up the distance and lips pressed into a thin line.

He stops in front of them.

Heechul clutches Yunho tighter.

"Heechul-hyung, the teacher wants to see you."

"Oh?" Heechul frowns. He still doesn't let Yunho go, much to Yunho's despair because his windpipe is slowly, but surely, getting crushed. "Why?"  
  
"How should I know." Changmin's voice is even, but it's deeper. Gravel-rough. Yunho imagines that voice whispering into his ear and has to suppress a shiver. "Now, if you don't mind."

Heechul opens his mouth, possibly to argue, but Boa beats him to it. She crowbars him off of Yunho, showing magnificent strength that's kept her in the position of their ace pitcher, flashes a smile at Changmin and drags Heechul backstage, ignoring his protests. There seems to be some sort of commotion going on and Yunho's distracted by it that it's too late when he notices that Changmin has moved closer. Much, much closer.

"You have-" Changmin gestures at his face, before leaning over and swiping a thumb across Yunho's cheek. Yunho stops breathing then. "-dust. There."

Their proximity is near nonexistent that Yunho's convinced Changmin could've heard the hammering of his heart against his ribcage. The stage isn't brightly-lit, but he can see lights glancing off the dark gold of Changmin's irises and he feels his face heating up. They stand rooted there for a few seconds, Changmin's hand on Yunho's face, until a loud crash snaps them out of their little world. Yunho stumbles back, panicking, and with a shaky laugh, flees to where Minho is buried under fake boulders.

 

.

 

"He's glaring at me again." Heechul says around a mouthful of rice, digging an elbow into Yunho's side. His eyes have gone a little wild. "I can feel it."

Boa tsks. "Boys are so dumb."

Yunho just wants to eat his strawberry yoghurt in peace.

 

.

 

Donghae and Hyukjae corner him in the classroom during lunch break, keeping him inside until the rest has cleared out. Yunho's not quite sure what's going on, but there's a premonition of doom hanging over his head like the blade of a guillotine. His survival instinct tells him that he should've escaped when he had the chance.

Hyukjae jabs a finger into Yunho's chest. "Boa told us you have a crush on someone."

Yunho chokes on his spit.

Donghae doesn't even look concerned for Yunho's wellbeing when he adds, "Yeah, who is it?"

 _Shit_. He should've known better than to trust Boa with his secrets. "T-That's none of your business."

"C'mon. We can help you out. We're, like, the best wingmen."

"The best wingmen," Hyukjae echoes. Yunho stares at him in disbelief, because it took them two and a half years to get together in the first place. And that's only after Heechul locked them inside the janitor closet, tired of listening to their mutual pining for each other. "Okay, maybe not. But you're gonna tell us anyway because you told Boa. What happens to bros before hoes, man?"

"First of all, I didn't tell Boa. She found out on her own." He jabs a retaliatory finger into Hyukjae's chest. "Second, I dare you to call her a hoe. In her face."

"Hell no. Do you want me to get killed." Hyukjae bats the finger away. "Just tell us who it is!"

"I don't want to!"

"Is it Hojun-hyung? It's Hojun-hyung, isn't it? That's why you've been hanging out with him so much?"

Yunho decides that he really, really needs new friends.

"Hyung?" He nearly gets a heart attack when Changmin suddenly walks in through the door at the back of the classroom. Changmin nods at Donghae and Hyukjae, always polite, before he turns to Yunho again and says, "Can I borrow your Maths textbook? I can't find mine."

Yunho pulls out the textbook, practically throws it at Changmin and pushes him out of the classroom before he overhears anything else Hyukjae or Donghae has to say. He briefly considers escaping with Changmin, but those two might follow them and that would be the worst case possible. Changmin's giving him this concerned, _is something wrong, hyung_ look with his large, deer-like eyes, but Yunho's getting pretty distracted by the flex of Changmin's muscles under his palm. He remembers seeing Changmin climbing out of the pool for the first time, all glistening wet and rippling muscles and smiling mouth.

He remembers spending extra time in the shower that day.

"I'll return this to you tomorrow, if that's okay?"

Ripped away from the wandering thoughts of what it would be like to have those muscles pushing him down, Yunho nods jerkily. "Yeah. Sure. Whenever."

Seconds later, Changmin's mouth curls into an amused grin. "Hyung." His eyebrow quirks. "Are you going to let me go anytime soon?"

Yunho realises belatedly that he's still holding onto Changmin's arm like an absolute creep. And that he's daydreaming about questionable things while they're standing in the middle of the hallway, right where everyone can see them. He snatches his hand away and laughs, extra loud in hope to smother the awkwardness screeching inside his head. Changmin's ducked his head to laugh as well, so Yunho considers that a good thing. His chest is full of warm things as he basks in the sound of Changmin's laughter and he thinks that this is okay too.

Even if Changmin never returns his feelings, he's okay with this easy friendship between them.

It's almost greedy to ask for anything more.

 

.

 

Five minutes later, while in the middle of trying to convince Hyukjae and Donghae that he holds no romantic feelings for Hojun, Yunho is once again caught by surprise by Changmin's sudden appearance. This Changmin looks slightly strained, with unsmiling lips and a tightness around his eyes that instantly make Yunho worry. He doesn't even get to ask what's wrong because Changmin beats him to it.

"I need to talk to you."

"Wha-"

"Now." He inclines his head at Hyukjae and Donghae, who are wearing matching bewildered expression, before grabbing Yunho's wrist and yanking him to his feet. Yunho winces when his shoulder protests. "Excuse us."

He sees Boa as he's being dragged out of the classroom.

She flashes him a grin and a thumbs up.

His only response is to mouth _what the fuck_ back at her.

 

.

 

"I found this in your textbook."

And by _this_ , Changmin means the letter Yunho should've thrown away the very second he finished writing it. He can feel the blood draining from his face as he stares at the incriminating piece of paper between Changmin's fingers. His brain is going ' _abort abort abort_ ', complete with flashing red lights and sirens blaring loudly. Yunho would've escaped if not for Changmin's hand pinning him against the wall and what little height difference between them seems amplified with Changmin hovering over him like this.

"Um." Yunho stares dumbly at the letter. Then at Changmin, who looks expectant and slightly more than just a little pissed. "I didn't mean any of it-"

" _You didn't mean any of it_?"

There's that low, gravel-rough voice again.

Yunho's body, because it's a treacherous piece of shit, decides that it likes the sound of that.

"Look, Changminnie-" Changmin's fingers dig into his shoulder and Yunho grimaces. He can already feel the bruising there. "It's stupid, I know. I shouldn't have-"

"You said you like Heechul-hyung." There's a storm brewing in Changmin's eyes, darkening the colour of his pupils. Yunho swallows thickly. "Was that a lie?"

"Yeah. Uh. Sort of. You came out of nowhere, I panicked and Boa wasn't helping and-" Yunho trails off when Changmin presses closer, their hips almost touching and faces only a few inches away. The back of Yunho's head bangs against the wall when he tries to scramble back and Changmin's eyes darken even further. "Um. Chang-Changminnie, what are you doing?"

"I'm going to kiss you now, hyung."

Yunho squeaks out a rather high-pitched, " _What?_ "

"I'm going to kiss you."

He's just staring now, wide-eyed and slack-jawed.

Changmin makes a frustrated noise, before he obviously decides that Yunho's lack of response means that he's not entirely opposed to the whole idea of Changmin kissing him. Because he's not. Definitely not opposed. A hundred percent opposite of being opposed. Changmin's lips are dry and a bit chapped, but Yunho isn't about to complain when he's being kissed within an inch of his life. Changmin kisses like he's starving, teeth biting down on Yunho's bottom lip and tongue sneaking past Yunho's teeth to seek out more to taste. Yunho whimpers and feels his legs buckle, but Changmin's holding him up with those amazing arms and he thinks he's about to blackout soon.

Yunho makes a strangled, disappointed noise when Changmin pulls away.

Changmin laughs softly, before he starts fixing his uniform and then Yunho's. He combs his fingers through Yunho's hair, patting the dishevelled strands into place and Yunho lets him, because he's still trying to catch his breath. And because he would let Changmin do whatever he wants anyway, as long as there's more kissing in the near future.

"You should've just told me," Changmin grouses, once he's done and Yunho's feeling more human and less like a puddle of goo. "I can't believe you said you like Heechul-hyung."

Yunho purses his lips into a pout. "I didn't know you even like guys!"

"I've been walking you home for the past two months, when my house is on the other side of town," Changmin deadpans. "I even went bowling with you." He pauses to scrunch his nose. "I hate bowling."

"... _Oh_." Heat floods his cheeks when he realises that yeah, Changmin has gone out of his way to make sure that they spend a lot of time together. And that he only shares his snacks with Yunho, which should've been a huge sign because Changmin doesn't share food with anyone else. Ever. Yunho's pleased grin melts off, though, when he gets to that later part. "Wait. You hate bowling? Why do you hate bowling?? It's the most fun-"

Changmin rolls his eyes and kisses Yunho again, just to shut him up.

 

.

 

Yunho's given a severe reprimand by the teacher when he finally gets to class, thirty minutes late and with his shirt untucked. Boa smirks at him as he does the walk of shame back to his table, carefully avoiding everyone else's eyes.

She flicks a note at his head that reads, ' _did you suck his dick yet? circle yes/yes_ '.

Yunho really, really needs new friends.

 

.

 

**Author's Note:**

> you can find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/ahjusshis) as well!


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